The National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™ publishes relevant, objective data on postsecondary metrics to serve the community. With the majority of institutions in the United States providing data to the Clearinghouse, the research center’s publications guide policymakers and business leaders to make the best decisions for higher education.
Research Topics
Transfer & Mobility
These reports consider student outcomes after transferring during their postsecondary tenure.
Student Progression
Persistence and retention measure how many students re-enroll in postsecondary education each year.
Some College,
No Credential
Students who left postsecondary education without receiving a credential. These reports capture their postsecondary outcomes after stopping out.
College Closure
Tracks students through their educational journey post-institutional closure addressing institutional characteristics, students’ re-enrollment, and completion of the first credential.
Latest Reports
Current Term Enrollment Estimates
Latest enrollment estimates for the current term nationally and by state, reported on by institution types, student groups, and major fields.
Completing College
The Completing College report series provides a comprehensive overview of postsecondary completion trends nationally and by state. For all students who enter postsecondary education for the first time each year, it examines the diverse pathways the student traversed toward completion, as well as a degree or certificate completion rate within six and eight years of enrolling.
High School Benchmarks
The High School Benchmarks Report provides high school-to-college transition rates for graduates of different types of high schools.
COVID-19: Stay Informed
Recognizing the urgency of COVID-19’s impact on students and institutions, the Research Center’s Stay Informed series tracks outstanding college enrollment trends in near real-time during the COVID-19 era.
Tracking Transfer
The 2022 update shows that of those who began postsecondary education at a community college in fall 2015, lower-income students were nearly half as likely than their higher-income peers to have transferred to a four-year institution (25% vs. 41%) and to have attained a bachelor’s degree within six years of first entry (11% vs. 22%).
COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress
Recognizing the urgency of COVID-19’s impact on students and institutions, the Research Center has been disseminating rapid response information to identify trends and raise areas of concern early enough for education and policy leaders to take corrective actions quickly.
Persistence & Retention
This report series helps institutions understand first-year college persistence and retention patterns and identify disparities between different students, institutions, or states in this important early success indicator.
Some College, No Credential
This report series seeks to understand the educational trajectories of millions of U.S. adults who left postsecondary education without receiving a postsecondary credential and are no longer enrolled.
Yearly Success and Progress Rates
Year-by-year rates of persistence, transfer, completion, and stop-out can help states and institutions better identify effective intervention points to increase student success.
Undergraduate Degree Earners
Insights into undergraduate credential earners in the 2020-21 academic year by demographic and educational profiles.
Current Term Enrollment Estimates – Fall 2019
In fall 2019, overall postsecondary enrollments decreased 1.3 percent or more than 231,000 students from the previous fall to 17.9 million students.
Private: Completing College – 2019
The Completing College report series examines the various education pathways first-time beginning undergraduate students traversed toward a degree or certificate completion, as well as the completion outcomes within six years of enrolling for the different groups of students who followed each pathway.
Upcoming Publications
TIMEFRAME 2023
Undergraduate Degree Earners
TIMEFRAME 2023
Current Term Enrollment Estimates – Fall 2022
TIMEFRAME 2023
COVID-19 Transfer, Mobility, and Progress – Fall 2022
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